Mo Ran navigated the throngs of people on the busy streets. Passing many stores, he entered a section of town where people came to buy and sell all kinds of animals caught in the ocean. He saw fish that were tied by a string and dangled on the wooden bars in the stands. Some sold crabs that were put in neat rows so that it would be easy for customers to pick which ones they wanted. He saw live lobsters crowded in small buckets of water, ready to be bought any time. He was walking on the street when a live fish slid across his foot.

A man chased after the slippery fish which was flopping desperately on the ground.

"Sorry sir," the man said as he crossed paths with Mo Ran. After grabbing the fish, the man quickly brought it to his stand and took a big knife and hit the fish's head with the broad side of the knife. The fish stilled. The corner of Mo Ran's lip turned up slightly. Like that fish, everyone is powerless under my control.

Mo Ran continued on his way. He stopped in front of a rather worn down looking store. He looked up and saw the name:格月平. The corner of Mo Ran's mouth went up slightly. This is it.He stepped into the building, tu it took a couple seconds before his eyes adjusted to the room which was dimly lit. The air was thick with the smell of different kinds of herbs.

A man was huddled over his suàn pán. He held up three of his fingers and made each one touch his thumb systematically. His lips moved as he scowled in concentration.

Mo Ran strode up to the man, but when he was about to say something, the man suddenly spoke. "How can I help you?" He didn't look up.

"I heard that this store sells Du She Gen," Mo Ran said as he leaned on the counter.

The man chuckled, still didn't look up. "Is that so?"

"Yes."

The man finally looked up. "How much do you want?"

"I want 3 ke."

"Alright!" The man said as he turned away and opened a drawer and started to fill a bag with herbs.

"Oh, by the way, I heard that it's always sunny here."

"Mm," the man nearly replied in bare acknowledgement.

"Not the weather kind of sunny, but the kind where there is always justice."

"Indeed. Justice here is the biggest attribute in the city."

"Yet even in the sunniest, brightest cities, lurks the will to survive despite right and wrong."

"Oh?"

"Not all that is bright is true and not all that lurks in the dark is fake. For the reality might be dark and what we call the light may be an illusion."

At this the man smirked and replied, "Follow me." He walked to his left and pulled aside the curtain that hung down  from the door. "Please," he said as he held out his hand in the direction of the door, inviting Mo Ran to pass through.

Mo Ran nodded and found himself on a flight of stone steps. The man behind him said, "You may go down there yourself. I will not accompany you."

Mo Ran turned to the man and bowed slightly. "Thank you." Turning away, Mo Ran started to descend the steps. The further down he went, the louder it became and he started to hear distinct market noises. As he looked up, he saw that the market stretched miles and miles and reached the horizon. He saw the torches of people moving among the many pathways that zigzagged its way through the market.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he heard sellers calling to people passing by in hopes that they could sell their goods out. It was a completely different world.  Contrast to the world above, this place crawled with shady business dealings and the selling of illegal goods. Indeed, many exotic and strange sights could be seen: snake charmers, fortune telling, people blowing fire from their mouths and hopping through small hoops. In this world, everyone was acceptable, and perhaps that was why this place was called the Ghost Market. One could be anyone here without their identity being questioned. It didn't matter if one was a Jing or Yan because everyone was equal.

With a practiced step, he navigated the web-like streets with ease, slipping through people and staying near the stores. As he made his way into the heart of the market, he heard from a distance an auction going on. He kept walking down the street toward the voice. Soon, the street widened and led to a big open space with stone seats that were arranged in a semicircle. People filled the seats as they observed the auctioneer, who was a rather old man with white flowing hair and a white beard that formed an upside down triangle.

He took out a golden staff that had emerald stones spiraling up the handle. The gold glittered in the torchlights. At the head of the staff sat a huge metal stone as big as a human fist. The auctioneer held the staff up and said, "This staff was from the treasury of the royal palace from the Jing dynasty! It's said that if you crush the emeralds, there is no poison that can't be cured!"

"Wow! That's so powerful," a man exclaimed nearby.

The auctioneer held up the staff and proclaimed, "For a starting price, it's 500 liang." People started to murmur among themselves.

"520 liang!" Someone from the crowd called. Mo Ran followed the voice. It was a young man.

"540 liang!" Another shouted, challenging the first man.

"Humph! Only 540 liang? 600 liang!"

"So what if you have 600 liang? 700 liang!"

The crowd gasped. 700 liang was enough to live a whole year.

"1,000 liang!" The second man bellowed.

"Anyone else have a better offer? 1,000 liang going once..." the auctioneer looked around. People avoided his gaze.

"1,000 liang going twice..." he let the words hang in the air.

"1000 liang! Sold!" The auctioneer proclaimed. "Congratulations on getting the royal staff left by the Jing dynasty." The man who bought it went to the front and handed the auctioneer the money and took the staff.

"Now the next item is a jade pendant said to bring you good luck wherever you go," the auctioneer said.

Mo Ran slowly tuned out the noises as he thought about his family...He only snapped out of his trance when he heard the auctioneer announce, "That is all for today! Come back tomorrow to see new valuable goods!"

At this, the crowd started to disburse. The auctioneer started to walk away as well. Mo Ran used his Qinggong and in under thirty seconds, he faced the auctioneer. "Long time no see," he said.

When the auctioneer saw him, his face lit up. "It's you!" He looked Mo Ran from head to toe. "Wow! You grew up from that little runt I saw years ago!"

"Well it's all thanks to you for teaching me some skills."

The man chuckled. "You still remember my lessons?"

Mo Ran held up a small jade pendant by his forefinger.

The auctioneer looked down at his belt and felt for the pendant. "My pendant!" He exclaimed.

"Here," Mo Ran tossed the jade pendant back. The auctioneer caught it. He glanced around furtively and then he leaned close to Mo Ran and said, "Follow me, cǐ dì bù yí jiǔ liú."

Mo Ran nodded and followed the auctioneer as he led the way. They had gone through many twists and turns when the auctioneer turned down a very narrow alleyway. He approached the wall of the left building and put both his hands on it as if to feel for something.

When his hands stopped over something, Mo Ran knew the auctioneer had found what he was looking for. "A-ha!" The man said in excitement. He pushed both his hands forward hard with all his might and the wall started to move. The wall was turned sideways so that the side was pointing outward. The man stepped between the sideways wall and Mo Ran followed.

After they had entered, the wall automatically turned sideways and returned to its original position.

The room was crowded with all kinds of treasures: boxes and boxes of pearls lying open, jewelry made of gems and other precious metal littered multiple tables, and shelves decorated with green jade sculptures and solid bars of gold.

"Stolen goods?"

The old merely hobbled to one of the least cluttered tables that had a teapot and some cups on it. He sat down heavily on a wooden stool and chuckled. "What do you think?"

Mo Ran sat down on another stool across the table. Likewise, he also poured himself a cup of tea. After he had tasted it he said, "Chang Long tea. Messy room. Stolen goods. Master, you have not changed a bit."

"Ay," the old man waved his hand. "Cǐ yán chā yǐ." What you have said is wrong.

"Oh?"

"I am not young like I used to be."

Mo Ran sat in silent agreement. His master was indeed old.

The man brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. After he had set the cup down he sighed. "You must have used all the perfume I gave you last year. Eh?"

"Master, no detail ever escapes you."

"Ha ha ha!" A robust laughter emitted from the man. He put his hand on Mo Ran's shoulder and looked into his eyes. "How is your sister?"

"She tells me she is all grown up, but to me, she is always going to be that five year old little sister I took care of all these years."

"Humph," the man nodded as his gaze wandered.

There was a moment of silence.

The man slapped his knee with one hand. "Well, here is your perfume," he said as he placed something on the table with a solid thud. Mo Ran looked down to find a clay jar as big as his hand in front of him. A piece of cloth covered the mouth of the jar. Mo Ran picked up the small, smooth jar and put it in his chest pocket. "Do you have more?"

The man looked surprised. "More? Isn't that enough to last you a year?"

"Not for me."

"For who?"

"A friend."

The man stared at Mo Ran hard and gave a resigned sigh. "Mo Ran, you grew up. You have finally made some friends. Just be careful. As you know, your identity is rather special. If anyone finds out..."

"You don't need to worry, Master. I will be extra careful."

"Good. Very good." The old man took out another small jar and handed it to Mo Ran.

"Thank you, Master," Mo Ran said.

"You are my disciple. Of course I will look out for you."

Another short pause.

"I heard you were going to take the test for Guo Zi Jian."

Mo Ran nodded.

"How are your studies going?"

"Good. Thanks for your concern."

There was another pause. Then Mo Ran stirred and stood up. "It is getting late and I have to continue to study. I will take my leave."

The old man's gaze followed Mo Ran as he too, stood up.

"Since that is the case, go in peace, my good student."

"Thank you Master," Mo Ran said as he bowed to show his respect. The man merely nodded and Mo Ran turned and left.

As Mo Ran made his way down the market street, he couldn't help but take out the small blue jar. He tossed it in the air and caught it before putting it back into his chest pocket, and making his way back to the upper world.

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    Xiao Zhao spent a lot of days studying with Han Jun. While they were together, Xiao Zhao learned a lot about the history between the Jing and Yan. As he learned more, he desperately tried to find clues about his mother, Empress Yue Yang, but the text only briefly mentioned her as having been the empress. Other than that, there was nothing else he could find.

"Hey, Han Jun," he said.

"Yeah?" Han Jun replied without looking up.

"Are there any other books containing information about the former empress?"

Han Jun looked at Xiao Zhao and then at the pile of books beside him. "No, why?" Han Jun asked as he looked down at his book again.

"Shouldn't there be more about the empress?"

Han Jun looked at Xiao Zhao with curiosity. "Like what?"

"Like...about her family or where she was from."

"Hmmm," Han Jun replied absentmindedly. "No. I don't think so."

"Oh," Xiao Zhao said, dejected. Looks like I will have to enter the Guo Zi Jian whether I want to or not. Don't worry Mother. I will find the truth about what happened that year. Xiao Zhao gently touched the curved piece of glass underneath his clothing.

"What's that you are touching?"

Xiao Zhao instantly took his hand away and adjusted his neck collar. "Nothing. My neck was just itchy." 

As soon as Han Jun asked the question, Xiao Zhao quickly tucked away the object that hung on his neck. Han Jun had noticed the paleness in Xiao Zhao's face as he answered him. Xiao Zhao is hiding something, but what? What could someone like Xiao Zhao, who grew up in a mountain, have to hide? It's okay, lái rì fāng cháng. I will have plenty of time to figure out Xiao Zhao's secret.

"Do you understand everything you are reading?" Han Jun asked.

"Yeah, yeah I understand," Xiao Zhao replied as he continued reading the book in his hand.

"If you have any questions, feel free to ask me," Han Jun said as he turned his attention back on his studies.

"Alright, I will," Xiao Zhao said, not really paying attention.

The corners of Han Jun's lips moved upward. You just wait, Xiao Zhao.

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Cǐ yán chā yǐ (此言差矣): It means that what someone said is incorrect.

Lái rì fāng cháng (来日方长): There is ample time.